The long-standing bottlenecks along the Kottayam-Kumily stretch of National Highway 183, a lifeline connecting the central Travancore town to the high-range settlements in the east, are finally set to be resolved with the construction of bypass roads at key towns enroute.
At a meeting convened by Kottayam MP K. Francis George, it was decided to assess the feasibility of bypass roads at Kodungoor, Pulickal Kavala (14th Mile), and Pampady. These bypasses form a key part of the Kollam-Theni Highway expansion project, which aims to widen the Kollam-Kottayam stretch to 30 metres and the Kottayam-Kumily stretch to 24 metres.
“A proposal to develop a bypass road for Kottayam town from Mulankuzha has also been approved. Instead of starting the bypass at Manipuzha, the existing Erayilkadavu road will be extended to connect with the National Highway at Mulankuzha Junction via Kakkoor,” the MP revealed.
The expansion of the Kottayam-Kumily road, which cuts through Kottayam town, poses challenges such as the demolition of buildings and disruption to the local economy. This has spurred the proposal for a bypass to minimise the impact, he said.
The proposed bypass is designed to pass through paddy fields, linking major roads like Kottayam-Karukachal, Puthuppally-Manarcad, Puthuppally-Payyappady, and Payyappady-Kochumattam before joining the National Highway at the 8th Mile near Pampady.
To address potential land acquisition hurdles at Pampady Junction, another plan involves starting the bypass at Vattamalapadi and extending it to Kothala-12th Mile. Similarly, a 12.6-km, 30 m-wide bypass is proposed to bypass the congested Manarcad-Kodimatha section. An initial draft of this bypass, prepared by the National Highways department, was reviewed during the meeting.
The road design, developed by MoRTH (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways), will now be modified to incorporate the new proposals.
The meeting was also attended by the Government Chief Whip N. Jayaraj, MLA Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, district panchayat member Radha V. Nair, NHAI Executive Engineer Rakesh C., Assistant Executive Engineer A.S. Sura, and Assistant Engineer Aravind K.M.
Published - January 19, 2025 07:19 pm IST
